Former Leafs Head Coach Sheldon Keefe Fires Shot at MLSE CEO Keith Pelley
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Photo credit: Toronto Maple Leafs
Ahead of a rematch with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night, New Jersey Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe took a shot at MLSE CEO Keith Pelley about some interesting comments he had made earlier this year.
In mid-November, Keith Pelley spoke at the Prime Time Sports Conference in Toronto where he discussed all things related to MLSE's sports empire, including the changes that have happened with the Leafs since he took over.
Pelley was asked at the time what led to the firing of former Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe, revealing that he felt the chemistry between Brendan Shanahan, Brad Treliving and Keefe 'wasn't quite there'.
In a lengthy interview with The Athletic's, Jonas Siegel this week, Keefe was asked about Pelley's comments, to which the ex-bench boss in Toronto made a surprising remark about the MLSE CEO.
"I've never had a real conversation with Keith Pelley before, so I don't know what that is."
Keefe also revealed that while he has known former Leafs GM Kyle Dubas for a very long time, it is actually Brendan Shanahan that he believes knew him best during his time with the Leafs and was a major reason as to why he returned for one final season as their head coach.
"Probably nobody in the organization there knows me better than Brendan Shanahan, who worked so closely with me and with everything from 'Blueprint' or the Amazon show, has probably watched hundreds of hours behind the scenes of me working, and probably knows me better than anybody in hockey; (he) decided to keep me around."
Keefe clearly felt that Pelley's comments were way off base and had no issue with clearing the air and correcting his former boss during the interview.
Keefe and the Devils are currently second in the Metro division with an 18-10-2 record and are 4 points clear of the injury-riddled Leafs in the Eastern Conference.
Keefe will be looking to avenge the early-season loss to the Leafs that saw his former team explode with 3 goals in 7 minutes in the first period before hanging on for a 4-2 victory.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 10 | 3266 ANSWERS Former Leafs Head Coach Sheldon Keefe Fires Shot at MLSE CEO Keith Pelley Are the Leafs better suited for playoff hockey under Craig Berube? | ||
| Yes | 2488 | 76.2 % |
| No | 249 | 7.6 % |
| Have to wait and see | 529 | 16.2 % |
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